Life-buoy.



A. A. UNRUH.

LIFE BUOY.

APPLlcATloN man mm2. |911 1,259,809.

Patented Mar 19, 1918.l

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3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

@Womad o 'A. A. UNRUH.

LIFE BUOY.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2. lsu.

Patented Mar; 19, 1918.

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@um i @How 4o Ai A. -UNRUH.

LIFE BUOY.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2. 1917.

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Patented Mar. 19, 191&

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ALBERT n'rwoon UNBUH, or PORTLAND, oraison.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

Application filed March 2, 1917. Serial No. 151,971.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

A Be it known that l, iiLBEi-rr A. UNRUH, a citizen ot the UnitedStates, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State ofOregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lite-Buoys;and I do declare the following to be a vfull, clear, and exactdescription 'of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same. y n

My invention hasiior its principal object to provide improvedstabilizing means for lit'e buoys of the general typek shown in myUnited States Patent No. 1,119,770, issued December 1, 1914.

Anotherilobject is to provide improved means for connecting the tacklereceiving rods or shackles to the buoy so as to permit them to serve assupporting means for an internal platform for the lookout.

With the foregoing general objects in view, the invention resides incertain novel features of construction and in unique combinations oiparts to be hereinafter fully Y described and claimed, the descriptivematter being supplemented by the accompanying drawings which constitutea part of this application, and in which:

`Figure 1 is an enlarged vertical section ot' the buoy in the positionwhich it assumes immediately after launching;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation with the improved stabilizing meansprojected;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through the stabilizing vmeans.showing the same in the retracted position of Fig. 1;

Ll is an enlarged sectional view `of part of the stabilizing means inextended position;

Fig, 5 is a horizontal section on the plane of the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig, 6 is a similar view with the stabilizing plates swung upwardly;

Fig. 7 is a detail vertical section on the plane of the line 7 7 of Fig.o; and

Fig. S is a similar view on the plane indicated by the line 8 8 of Fig.6,

.In the drawings above briefly described, the numeral 1 'has referenceto a suitable shell preferably formed of` 4sheets or' metal riveted orwelded together around an appropriately constructed skeleton frame, 2,the upper portion of the shell 1 being in the form of a conning tower 3having a ver tically moving ventilator cap 4el, a plurality ot coloredsignal lights 5, and other lights 6 for the lookout. Electric bulbs 7are preferably located adjacent the signal lights 5 so as to illuminatethe latter at night to render the floating buoy visible to other shipswhich may be vin the vicinity.

The ventilator 4f is-carried by the upper end of a stem 8 whose lowerend is pivoted to a lever 9 fulcrumed at one end within the conningtower 3 and guided at its other end inthe slot 10 of a vertical guidebar 11, this last named end of the lever being by preference providedwith a depending handle 12 Y by means of which rit may be operatedtovequipped with suitable straps whereby they may be strapped in theirindividual seats if required. Above the uppermost seat 13 is a step 15located below the lower end of a hatchway 16 by means of which thepassengers enter the buoy, said hatchway being equipped with a suitablewatertight door 17 as will be clear from the drawings. In case ofleakage at this door, however, or at any other point, a pump 18ispreferably provided, the lower end of said pump being screened andlocated in a depression 19 in the bottom of the shell 1.

The interior of the buoy will be equipped with sutlicient provisions andfresh water to last the occupants several days, and first aidnecessities such as medicine chests and the like will be provided. Amongthe other accessories provided for the `,convenience of thc occupants isa marine toilet fixture 20 located in suitable compartment-21.

Another appliance by preference employed is a Ventilating pipe 22 andfan. 23, the former leading downwardly from theventilator 4 so'that bymeans of any of the well known automatic controls, theYV fan 23 may bemade to draw in fresh air and expel foul air atL suitablel intervals Ashackle 24 is provided at the upper end crowns cross each other asshown, the two halves of said rods passing through the top of the tower3 and extending to the bottom of the shell 1,*at which point they aresuitably anchored. Both halves of the rods are preferably formed ofupper and lower sections connected at a suitable point by turn buckles26, and these buckles may well serve as supports for a platform 27through which the rods pass, said platform being designed primarily tobe occupied by the lookout, although it may be used for other purposessuch for instance as a support for the fan 23. Steps Q8 preferably leadto the platform 27 but the use of these is optional since other meansmay well be employed in lieu thereof.

An annular apron 30 depends from the bottom of the buoy and is providedbetween its ends with a horizontal partition 31 cooperating with saidbottom to provide a water ballast chamber 32, said chamber having asuitable number of water inlets 33, and a number of vents 34 forallowing the escape of air as the water. enters. The apron, below thepartition 3l, constitutes a housing or pocket to normally receivetherein the stabilizing plates and vanes yet to be described, thevertical shaft on which said plates and vanes are carried being slidablymounted in an upright tubular guide formed of upper and lower pipes 35and 36. Pipe 35 extends from the bottom of the buoy to the platform 27,while pipe 36 depends from said bottom to the partition 31.

A vertical shaft 37 is provided, said shaft consisting of a plurality oftelescoping sections 38 equipped with suitable collars 39 to limit theVextensibility of said shaft, said collars having teeth 40 whichinterengage when the shaft is 'extended so as to prevent relativerotation of the several sections. The innermost section 38 is connectedat its upper end with a cable 4l which passes through a central openingin a partition 42 in the upper end of the pipe 35 and then over a pulley43, said cable being connected with an appropriate drum 44 whereby itmay be wound or paid out as occasion may demand.

A plurality of upstanding vanes 45 radiate from the lower end of saidinnermost section 38 and at their inner ends are secured theretopreferably by angle irons 46. The Outer to drop by gravity to theoperative position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and thus said plates willoffer no resistance to the quick projection of said shaft. Havingreached Vthe limit of their downward movement, the plates 49 will swingdownwardly to the horizontal position of Figs. 3 and 5 so that they forma complete disk which cooperates with the vanes 45 in forming aneffective stabilizing means acting more or less as a center board, thebuoy being thus prevented from bobbing around on the surface in themanner which is unavoidable when no such stabilizing means is employed.

The improved buoys are adapted to take the place of the usual open lifeboats now used on both passenger liners and freighters, each vesselbeing equipped with an adequate number to accommodate passengers andcrew. These buoys will be supplied with food,water, and othernecessities, and will be so located as to permit them to be readilydropped over the side'of the ship. With the vessel thus equipped,assuming that the same is torpedoed or otherwise injured so that sinkingis unavoidable, the passengers are loaded into the several buoys and areby preference strapped in their individual seats. This having been donethe hatchway 17 is closed and the buoy is dropped over the side of theship. Either now or beforehand, but preferably after the buoy islaunched, the drum 44 is released so as to permit the shaft 37 to dropby gravity to extended position whereupon the stabilizing plates 49 andthe vanes 45 will come into play to prevent the buoy from beingexcessively tossed about on the waves. A, lookout will be stationed onthe platform 27 so that approaching vessels may be seen through thelights G, and from time to time he'will open the ventilator 4 and startup the fan 23 so as to expel the foul air from and admit fresh air intothe buoy, thus insuring that none of the occupants will suffer for wantof an adequate amount of oxygen. By night the colored lights 5' whichare preferably red, will be displayed, whereas in the day time a flagwill be visible so that the several buoys may be readily seen from anyships which may be in the vicinity and they may thus come to the aid ofthe survivors.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,the construction, manner of operation, and advantages of the inventionwill be clear and it will be obvious that although the improved buoy isof rather simple, inexpensive, and light construction, it will be ahighly etlicient and durable life saver. For these reasons thearrangement shown constitutes the preferred form of the buoy but it isto be understood that within the scope of ther invention as claimed,numerous changes may be made without sacrificing the principaladvantages.

I claimz" l. The combination with a life buoy, of a vertically disposedshaft carried thereby and normally retracted, said shaft being adaptedto be projected downwardly when the buoy is launched, and stabilizingmeans carried by the lower end of said shaft and including a pluralityof radiating upstanding vanes, and plates hingedly mounted between saidvanes, said plates being adapted to swing upwardly when the shaft isbeing lowered and to then assume substantially horizontal positions.

2. The combination with a life buoy, of a vertically disposed shaftcarried thereby and normally retracted, said shaft being adapted to bevprojected downwardly when the buoy is launched, and stabilizing meanscarried by the lower end of said shaft and including a plurality ofupstanding vanes radiating therefrom, and segmental plates hinged tosaid vanes, said plates being adapted to swing upwardly when the shaftis being lowered and to then assume substantially horizontal positions.

3. The combination with a life buoy, of a vertically disposed. shaftcarried thereby and normally retracted, said shaft being adapted to beprojected downwardly when the buoy is launched, and stabilizing meanscarriedby the lower endof said shaft and including a plurality ofupstanding vanes radiating therefrom, bars extending between and securedto the outer ends of said vanes .to hold the same in spaced relation,and segmental stabilizing plates hingedly mounted between said vanes,said plates being adapted to swing upwardly when the shaft is beinglowered and to then drop by gravity onto said bars.

a. The combination with a life buoy, of a telescopic shaft carriedthereby and normally retracted, the lower end of said shaft havingstabilizing means operative when said shaft is extended, coacting stopcollars on the several shaft sections for limiting the crowns, bothhalves of said rods extendingV through the interior of the buoy andbeing anchored to or near the bottom thereof, and

a platform supported by said rods and located within the buoy. Y

6. The combination with a life buoy, of a shackle at the upper endthereof formed of a plurality of arched rods crossed at their crowns,both halves of said rods extending through the interior of the buoy andbeing anchored to or near the bottom thereof, supporting members on saidrods within the buoy and a platform resting on said members, saidplatform having openings through which the rods pass. y

7. The combination with a life buoy, of a telescopic shaft carriedthereby and normally retracted, the lower end of said shaft having `astabilizing means operative when said shaft is extended, coacting stopcollars on the several shaft sections for limiting the extension of theshaft, and interengaging means on said collars for preventing relativeturning of the several sections of said shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

` ALBERT ATWVOOD UNR-UH.

Witnesses:

OLIVER M. I-IIoKEY, R. W. FAIRBULL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 6.

